


Smoke and Glitter

by herstorybooks



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Belle French - Freeform, CIA, Dancers, F/M, FBI, OUAT - Freeform, Rumbelle - Freeform, burlsque, mr gold - Freeform, under cover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-19 23:38:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3628518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herstorybooks/pseuds/herstorybooks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>two different agents from two different agencies find themselves in the same burlesque club, both with the same mission. Belle French is undercover as a new dancer for the club. Robert Gold is undercover as a possible investor. What happens when their missions collide.<br/>Rating will probably go up at some point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A large cup of steaming coffee landed in front of Belle’s face, her nose instantly picking up the dark strong sent.  
“You look like you need it.” A voice said Belle lifted her head to see Ruby staring back at her with a sympathetic smile. The fellow FBI agent’s dark hair falling at hr shoulders and her red lips piercing attention. Her tailored suit made her look like an agent and a model at the same time. Belle took the cup in her hands, immediately taking pleasure from the warm sensation the hot cup gave her skin.  
“How bad do I look?” Belle asked reluctantly. Her unwashed hair was pulled up into a messy pony-tale and only a thin layer of foundation was used to cover up the dark bags under her eyes.  
“Honestly?” Ruby perched herself on Belle’s desk, folding her hands in her lap. “You’ve looked better.” Belle chuckled painfully, slightly admiring her friend blunt honesty. “When did you get back from China?”  Belle checked her watch.  
“It’s 9:15 so…. 4 hours a go.” Belle yawned. Ruby winced.  
“Ouch! What are you doing here then?”  
“Regina.” Belle said as she leant back in her chair. “She wanted me in today’s meeting for some reason.”  
“Oh yeah! I heard about that! It’s a big mission from the sounds of it.”  
“Bigger than the one I just finished?” she asked sarcastically. Ruby chuckled and tapped her friend’s knee as she stood up.  
“I’ll see you in there then.” Ruby walked out of Belle’s cubical and walked towards her own. Belle counted the hours she had been awake on her fingers and groaned, her head falling onto her desk.

 

Robert Gold slipped into the room just as the meeting was about to start. He always made a mental note to turn up later than everyone else, to avoid conversation with the younger members of the CIA.  Gold had been around this job far longer than any of them and had a strictly professional relationship with everyone. The only time he would engage in a conversation, was to clear up work. The man lived alone and divorced. His job was the only thing to stop him thinking how pitiful his life must seem to other people. His life was his wok, not relationships or friendships. It was safer that way, for numerous reasons.

 He crept his way towards a chair, hoping to go un-noticed.  
“Ah Gold,” Shit! He looked up to see Melany looking at him with arms folded. Her blonde hair pulled back and her sharp eyes scowling him. “You decided to join us then?”  
“I’m not late, Dearie.” He sated simply. “It’s not my fault if you decided to start early.” He said bitterly taking a seat.  
“Well it’s a good job you did decide to turn up...” Gold looked up at her. She only found his presence at meeting important whenever he was getting a telling off or an assignment. He wondered which option it would be. “As this mission revolves heavily around you.” The second one then.

 

Belle sat at the front of the table near Regina. Since she ended up appearing early she might as well gain herself a good seat. She began making mental notes of what she would by for dinner tonight and a reminder to shower. After a while more people began to turn up and before she knew it the table was surrounded by agents.  
“Now,” Regina began as she strutted into the room. “I’m afraid we have some annoying news regarding an old friend of ours, Zelena. She’s out.”  
 “What? I only just put that scum bag into jail!” Agent Emma Swan complained. The blonde woman looked furious as she had only just completed a mission of putting Zelena in jail for running a large drug organisation.  
“Well I’m afraid your case didn’t stick, agent Swan. Your witness disappeared so Zelena was let out. And she seems to be up to her old ways.”  
 “So, are you telling me I have to get her ass locked up again?”  
“No, not you miss Swan.” Regina said turning on the projector that showed a photograph of Zelena outside a local burlesque club.  Her red hair and emerald green scarf contrasted against one another. It was a nice scarf Belle thought, wondering where she got it from.  “Since being released Zelena has bought a burlesque club. However we have suspicion that she’s using it as a cover for selling drugs on a large scale. Now, we need someone to go undercover, see if they can get anything on her. The club seems to be looking for new dancers.” Regina’s gaze suddenly drifted towards Belle. Belle looked at Regina feeling her stare, and realisation dawned on her.  
“No.” Belle stated.  
“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice agent French. Zelena already knows Swan’s face, we need someone she hasn’t seen before.”  
“But why me?” Belle complained  
“Well you are the only one with this certain dance experience.” Belle suddenly felt a heavy weight of stares land on her.

As a child Belle had been a dancer, the typical ballet lessons many young children took. It wasn’t until she was in college had she discovered Burlesque. After drunkenly stumbling into the club one night and being fascinated by the smoke and costumes the place had to offer. She was currently studying law enforcement, hoping to become a police officer, dancing was just a hobby she enjoyed. However her student fees didn’t come cheap and this seemed a better place than any to earn some night time money. However when her career as an agent took off; Belle abandoned the dancing and glitter for suits and a gun.  
“Fine, I’ll do it.” She muttered reluctantly.  

 

After explaining a similar story to the rest of the CIA agents, Melany locked her stare onto Gold’s.  
“This is where you come in.” Gold simply stared at her with an expressionless face. “The club is looking for new investors, and many of them seem to end up in the drug scheme Zelena operates. You’ve worked on similar cases to this Gold, should be a walk in the park for you.” Gold sighed and stood up from his chair and began to leave the room. Not really interested in anything else Melany had to say, he could read the rest of what he needed to do.  
“Fine, E-mail the details.”

That night when Robert Gold returned to his small apartmen,t he checked his e-mail. The screen showed him all his information about his latest target and operation. He was to pretend to be a possible investor in the company, and once he had Zelena’s trust, try and get in on her drug scheme and get as much evidence as possible, starting in two days. “Wonderful.” He said sarcastically.

 

The next day Belle stood in the gym, pounding the hell out of a fake dummy. Punch left, punch right, stab into the gut, round kick across the face.  
“Who’s pissed you off Madame Belle?” Belle turned to glare at a smug looking Jefferson who comically used her old stage name.  
“Get lost!” She said as she wacked the dummy harshly.  
“Come on! It’s funny.” Jefferson said holding the dummy still as she punched it.  
“No… it’s… not!” She said through heavy punches.  
“Why does it annoy you so much? I bet you look great in a thong and corset.” He joked. Belle stood still and looked the fear of god into his eyes.  
“That! That’s why!” She said round kicking the dummy, skimming Jefferson’s face with her shoe on purpose.  
“Wow! Calm down!” He complained as he held onto the side of his face.  
“No I won’t!” She said returning to punching furiously. “Because now everyone is going to see me as little miss burlesque dancer and no one will take me seriously!” she continued to punch the hell out of dummy until eventually it fell onto floor.  
“Belle!” Jefferson held onto her shoulders holding her still. “I was just joking!” Belle sighed and slumped her shoulders.  
“Whatever.” She said walking away breathing heavily. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Belle took one long look in the mirror and sighed. It had been so long since she wore her old burlesque costumes. This one did use to be her favourite; however now she was aware that all her fellow agents were watching her threw the mini camera attached to her small broach. She was wrapped in a navy blue corset with black flowers detailed across the waist. Her black stockings went all the way to her thighs, paired with her tall black stiletto heels. Her long dark hair dangled against her shoulders. She sighed and slumped. “I swear to God, if any of you are laughing, I will shoot you all.” She said through her hidden microphone.  
“Calm down Belle, no one’s laughing.” Belle heard through her ear piece.  
“Ruby, I don’t want to do this.” She whispered.  
“You’ll be fine.”  
“Madame Belle?” A female voice came from the door. Belle looked up with a weak smile. “You’re up.”

 

Gold walked into the dark burlesque bar, the smell of smoke and perfume hit him instantly. He winced slightly at the sent. It was less than appealing.  
“Mr Gold I assume?” A dark voice came from behind him. He turned to see a red head with a deep uneasy stare, Zelena.  
“Miss Zelena?” His sudden agent switched on, along with his inner actor that charmed women to gain their trust. He took her hand and with a sly grin her shook her hand.  
“I understand you are interested in becoming an investor for my little club.”  
“Well I can see this place is rather successful, I see it as a very good investment.”  
“Well I am not going to say no to someone giving me more money.” She laughed, Gold chuckled however in his mind was thinking, “you vile woman.”  
“Of course you’d understand if I got to see how this place is run first?”  
“Of course. We’re about to hold auditions for new dancers. Care to watch?”  
“Why not?” He said reluctantly.

Zelena lead him towards a table in front of the stage, her hand lingering on his shoulder than he would have preferred. He sat down and a bottle of scotch was immediately placed in front of him. Zelena sat herself down beside him, scooching her seat closer to his and lacing her hand on his thigh seductively.  
“Enjoy the show.”

For half an hour Gold sat with Zelena practically groping him; and watching wannabe superstars _try_ to dance.  He was about ready to make his excuse to leave, that was until _she_ came onto the stage.

 

Belle took in a deep breath before painting on her fake sexy smile and strutting onto the stage. The dark stage was suddenly lit up by a single spot light shone harshly onto her.  
Breathe in. Breathe out. She licked her lips and stared into the darkness with a seductive stare. The music came to life, and so did Belle’s past self. Her hips began to swirl, her arms began to swings and her head twirled.  Her chest shimmied and rolled her hips seductively before bending her knees for a quick dip towards the floor.  She strutted towards the stairs of the stage and slowly placed one foot in front of the other, exaggerating her legs on her way down. She grabbed the nearest chair and placed her heel onto the seat. Slowly she bent, running her hand down her leg and dropping her head to her knee, letting her hair fall in front of her face. She snapped her head up, her hair flinging into the air and falling to her back. She was about to swerve her body away but her eyes got caught by another.  Dark brown hazel eyes tore into her soul holding her still. She found them so capturing she couldn’t move. All her senses left her body and her world around her disappeared. She focused on nothing but those eyes staring at her. She could barely make out the rest of the facial features but the eyes seemed to say enough, seemed to explain a lonely sad life.  A loud bang from the music snapped her out of trance, she whipped her head to the side and ran back up to the stairs and onto the stage before pausing in the middle, her head over her should and hips stuck out to the side.  The music stopped and all Belle could hear was her heart beating and her heavy breathing.

 

Gold watched as the small brunette began to move her hips and swing across the stage, she moved completely different to the other girls he had to watch earlier this night. He couldn’t take his eyes of her. Her beautiful brown hair with red hints, her piercing blue eyes that shone across the room and her smile was beautiful! He barely realised she had left the stage, it wasn’t until she stood in front of him, leg on chair and hair whipped back, staring right him. She was breath taking. Her eyes were whipped away from his and she landed back onto the stage. The music stopped and all he could hear was his heart beating and he swear he could hear her breathing.  
“well…” Zelena’s voice broke through. “You are by far the best dancer we have seen all day. You’ve got a job.” He saw the girl smile slightly before she nodded and walked away off the stage. Not only was she the best dancer he’s seen all day, she as the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life.

  


                                                                                   


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ITS BEEN A YEAR???!!!!   
> this is only a short chapter, but its a little something to say sorry for my neglect.

Belle left the stage, heart pounding and chest having. She hadn’t danced like that in years! It was just like a bike for her. A flip of her hair and a swivel of the hips, a good old leg bend and shoot them a sultry look to finish the deal. It was everything Belle remembered it to be, apart from the warm hazel eyes staring back at her. Belle had often decided to leave the stage as a way of standing out from the crowed. It made the whole “look but don’t touch” scenario even stronger, and teasing the punters always resulted in a big bill in the tip jar for everyone to share at the end of the night. The eyes she normally met were drunk or high. Slimy and not at all attractive, however the eyes she met tonight were anything but. They were cold hard sober, warming and beautiful!

As she re-entered the dressing room, she heard the familiar wretched voice of Zelena. “Thank you ladies but I’m afraid the position has been filled. You can all go home.” Belle was about to walk away and get dressed to leave, Zelena’s bony hands held her back. “You my pretty have some talent. You know how to capture an audience all right.” Belle tried hard not to cringe at the strong smell of vodka on her breath.   
“Thank you, Miss.” She said whilst breathing through her mouth.   
“Tomorrow, 3pm. I’ll see you then.” Zelena said with her evil smirk and walked away. Belle sighed with frustration and went back to her table to un-frock.

She slumped down in front of the mirror after changing into jeans and white oversized shirt. She sighed looking in the mirror and seeing the glitter all around her face and eyes. How did this happen? She was supposed to be a highly respectable agent who was trained to take down criminals. How on earth had she ended up back here? She wiped the make-up from her face, pulled her hair back into a pony tail, and packed her bag with all of her dance gear. She looked around to make sure no one was around, before pulling her gun out of the bottom of her bag and placing it in the back of her jeans. She zipped up her large grey duffle bag and slung it over her shoulders.

She stepped into the night air and felt the cold wind brush her skin. She looked up hoping to see a cluster of starts. Instead she saw combination of tall industrial building. She sighed and walked away from the club and towards her new rented apartment. She had walked a few blocks towards a less than lit area of town when she hear a voice behind her.  
“That was quite a show, dearie.” She paused and reached for her gun. She turned around to see a dark stranger with brown eyes. She grasped onto her gun a little tighter.   
“Thank you, Mr…”   
“Gold. And you are?” he said walking slowly towards her causing belle to squeeze her gun even tighter.   
“Were you following me? I saw you at the club right?” Before Gold had a chance to say a word, some hooded character appeared from the shadows and grabbed hold of Belle. Gold reached into his pocket and pulled out his gun, ready to fire the attacker. Before he had the chance to say or do anything, Belle had kicked her attacker in the groin, knocked him to the floor and was pointing her own gun at him.  Both the agents stared at each other in shock and confusion, not realising at the attacker ran away.   
“Why the hell do you have a gun?” they both shouted in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so its been a while since i visited this fic! sorry for the wait :/ but hopefully you'll like this chapter.   
> thanks to woobierumple for being my BETA! love ya girl :**

“Put the gun down Ms French!” Gold shouted with his gun thrusted forward.   
“Hell no, Mate.” She said with her Australian tang leaking through.   
“Put the gun down!”  
“You first!” it had become a screaming match between the two agents; both of them certain that the other didn’t have the right to be holding a gun; both oblivious to the fact that they both had the right. Gold could hear a slight accent in her voice, and thanks to Gold’s own accent he knew it only came out when a person was truly pissed. He calmed is voice in hope of calming the situation.   
“At the count of three, I’m going to put my gun away.” He said lowering his gun from his target.  “I would appreciate it if you would do the same.” Belle breathed in. The tone of his voice sounded reasonable so belle nodded and began to count.   
“Fine; One… two… three.”  
“Three.”   They both tucked their gun away into their back pockets.  Belle sighed heavily and looked around awkwardly before looking back at Gold, who himself looked very awkward.   
“Want to tell me why you have a gun there Mr Gold?”  She asked almost casually.   
“I could ask you the same question.”   
“well…” Belle had always been quick on her feet, and sadly lying had become a specialty. “A lot of people think they can touch as well as look a Burlesque dancer so… protection… and all that… Anyway why do you have a gun?” Not buying her excuse but not being able to think of a better one himself, Gold shuffled on his feet.   
“Something   similar, without the Burlesque element.”   
“Well then…” Belle said straightening herself up and picking up her bag. “Not that this hasn’t been fascinating but I think I’m going to have to say goodnight Mr Gold.” She then walked away, taking a route that was better well-lit and looking over her shoulders the entire time.   
“Goodnight Ms French.”  Gold said curiously and intrigued.

Finally home and as safe as she could get, Belle showered and changed into black leggings and a large white jumper. Tucked under a blanket and with a steaming cup of tea by her side, she picked up her phone and dialled.   
“Jefferson.” The voice on the other end answered.   
“Jefferson! It’s Belle!”   
“Madame Belle, how’s it going over there. Enjoying the glitter and thongs?” he joked sarcastically.   
“Shut up and put Ruby on the phone.” Belle heard Jefferson laugh and call for Ruby.   
“Belle! What’s up? Everything Okay?”   
“Hey Hun! Can you do me a favour? I need a check on a gun license for a man called Mr Gold, same area code as me.”   
“Yeah sure. Do you have a first name?” Ruby said reaching for a pen.   
“Sorry no.”    
“Okay I’ll send you what I find but I doubt I’ll find much.”

Sat at his desk Gold rolled up his sleeves and removed his tie. After pouring a glass, a large glass, of scotch; Gold began his research on the so called Madame Belle. Her story was clearly a lie and made Gold wonder what part she really played in Zelena’s dark operation. He began with the internet. Researching the name Madame Belle came up with several dirty porno websites and finally a website of Belle at her old club. The website was unbelievably outdated and was the only website he found her name and face on. The girl clearly hadn’t danced in any form of club for years! So why start dancing again now? Why dance for Zelena? After hours of not being able to find any information on her online, he went to the CIA database. The name Madame Belle appeared nowhere and any Belle’s were clearly not the Belle he searched for. Becoming even more invested in knowing more about this dancer, Gold began to hack into other government databases, illegally. The FBI was the first obvious choice and he thanked all his lucky stars he did.   
“Well that explains the gun.”

_Agent Belle French will go undercover as a dancer at the target’s new Burlesque lounge ‘WICKED.’ Agent French has been chosen due to her past experiences as a Burlesque dancer before joining the bureau..._

The profile carried on to describe the case in detail, most of it Gold already knew. He quickly moved onto the woman’s profile – Belle French dressed in a suit and armed with a gun was for some reason more appealing than the glitter and smoke he witnessed earlier that night. He poured himself another glass of scotch and settled in for a long night of reading.

It was 4 am and Belle was wrapped in her duvet sleeping blissfully and quietly.  However that quiet blissful sleep was interrupted by the beeping and light of her phone. She grunted and rolled over.   
“ _Agent,_ Robert Gold? Ugh. Great.”

 The next day was Belle’s first day of rehearsal at the Burlesque lounge. Dressed in a casual pairing of dark blue leggings, black dance shoes and a baggy white over the shoulder top, Belle stepped into the lounge and saw a collection of girls dancing and rehearsing on stage.   
“Belle Darling!” the loud screech of Zelena’s voice shocked both Belle and the other dancers, causing all of them to stop dancing and turn towards her. Zelena wrapped her bony arm around Belle’s waist and led her over towards the stage. Belle could already smell the alcohol on the woman’s breath. Did she ever stop drinking?  “Ladies, this is the newest member of our dancing group, Madame Belle.”   
“Another dancer? Seriously, Zelena?” Belle looked up to see a strong standing woman with dark curls and a curvy figure. She was at least 15 years older than Belle and defiantly had the breast size to show for it.  Her lips sat in a thin line of annoyance and her eyes seemed to be shooting daggers at Belle “I’m already having a tough getting this lot to learn the routine.” Looking behind the woman Belle saw four much smaller dancers standing and panting heavily.

The first girl had short and black pixie hair. The flush on her face could have been mistaken for heat from the dancing but Belle had a feeling that those rosy cheeks sat naturally on the woman’s fair skin. She wore a modest selection of clothes.  She was dressed in a bright red high necked t shirt and bright blue jogging bottoms. The girl next to her was dressed in a layer of a blue sports bra that peeked out from underneath her white top. She had her blonde hair wrapped up in a high pony tail with strands falling around her face. The third dancer was dressed in all brown. A dark brown vest that showed off her cleavage very clearly, dark brown dancing trousers and a distasteful look was all she wore. And finally there was a small girl standing at the edge with dark green leggings, a black top similar to Belle’s and her hair in a curly messy bun. Her gaze seemed to be avoiding Belle’s, the girl clearly wanted to be somewhere else.

“Not now Milah.” Zelena slurred. “Teach the girl the routine and get on with it. We have a show to perform tomorrow.”  All a sudden a loud bang came from behind Belle as the doors slammed open.   
“I’m here, darlings! Don’t worry I’m here.”  A very tall and skinny woman dressed in a back leotard and a large white fur coat busted into the room and ran up to the stage to hug the woman named Milah.   
“Cruella, Darling!” Milah kissed the woman on both cheeks and wrapped her arm around her waist. “Don’t worry you’re not missing much. Zelena was just introducing us to this new dancer.” Milah waved her hand at the girl dismiss fully and turned back to Cruella.  Cruella eyed Belle up and down and quickly decided she was no threat.   
“Well I’ll let you all get on with rehearsal.” Zelena then flew out the room, most likely to the bar.   
“Right then,” Milah stood above Belle on the stage and stared down at her. “You might want to stand at the back for this routine.”   
“Oh yes it’s not an easy routine, Darling.” Cruella chimed in. Straight away Belle disliked these women. They clearly saw themselves above all the other dancers and planned to treat her the same way.  Belle walked over towards a chair and table in front of the stage and dropped her heavy bag from her shoulder onto the ground so it made a loud thump.   
“How about you let me decide that,” Belle sat down, crossed her knees on top of each other and sat back. “You clearly know the routine, show me and I’ll tell you if I can handle it.” The challenging arch in Belle’s eyebrow annoyed Milah enormously and sparked an evil flame inside her.   
“Fine.” She said with angered eyes. “David!” She shouted at the top of her voice and a tall muscled man in a black shirt appeared from above the stage where the sound system sat. Belle noticed the smile and blush on the pixie haired girl’s face.   
“Yes Milah.” David said with un-amusement in his voice.    
“Get my track and spot!” She then went about shooing the other dancers off the stage and stand in her starting position. She stood with her back to the audience and her hip cocked to one side.

The music started and ended rather quickly. The dance was nothing special. It was more of a stripper dance if anything. The rock music that screamed over the top made it impossible to become relaxed and enticed in the routine. Milah strutted (or stumbled) around the stage in her high heels, removing garment after garment with no tease or artistic style at all. Once she had finished Cruella jumped up and down clapping her hands and cheering for her friend. The other girls clapped but with no enjoyment in their action or on their face. With a smirk on her face Milah walked to the front of the stage and stared down at Belle who was not impressed. “You think you could handle that routine?” Belle pretended to think about her question.   
“Well, yeah. I mean it’s nothing special is it?” The shock on everyone’s face on Belle’s bluntness was obvious, as was the anger on Milah’s.   
“Nothing special?” the words seemed to taste bitter on Milah’s tongue and Belle relished in the look on her face. “You think you _could_ do better?”   
“Yes.” Belle stated simply.   
“Well, be my guest.” Milah shouted annoyed.   
“Fine,” Belle sat up and picked up her back. “Give me 15 minutes and…”  
“You have 10!” Milah interrupted.   
“Perfect.”

 Gold was walking down the street happier than usual. After last night’s reading session he was completely ready to uncover the FBI agent. For starters he was annoyed that the FBI had decided to take on a case that he was already working on – and not tell him! Robert was yet to tell his boss about his discovery of Agent French. He was never one to send regular updates on cases and this was nothing but a minor push back. He would walk in; bring the woman to the side and simply recite what he had read in her profile.  She was originally from Australia however moved to America after her mother died when she was 13. Her school grades had always been high and all reports said the same thing. Her work was outstanding however her social interaction with other student’s lacked significantly. Whilst studying law and training to be an officer, Belle had taken a part time job as a Burlesque dancer in a small club to gain extra money to send to her father who was always on the verge of going bankrupt. From the reviews on the old website she did rather well as a dancer. However Gold struggled to see the difference between burlesque dancers and strippers. Once she decided to become an FBI agent, the dancing stopped and less money went towards her father’s bank account and him spending several nights in a jail cell for drunken behaviour. It appeared once Belle had gone onto the pay roll, her father began to get back on his feet and started to make a living for himself – however the drunken nights still came around once a month or so.

Gold walked into the Burlesque lounge with a smirk on his lips, which fell when he saw a tall standing woman with curved hips and dark hair, Milah. She didn’t seem to have seen him. No she had that look on her face. Someone had pissed her off and all her focus was on how she would make their life hell. He was about to turn around and come back on a later time when Milah was gone and Miss French was alone, but then the spotlight hit the stage and there she stood; Agent Belle French.

The spotlight was dim, as if it was only candle light brightening her figure. There she stood with a pearl pink ribbon in her hand. Her top was covered with a nude silk slip vest, delicately tucked into sheer white maxi skirt that had a gold lining above the waist. There was one large slip down the middle of the skirt, giving a cheeky view at her shapely legs. Her feet were placed inside light pink strappy heels, no taller than 3 inches. The vintage style was classic and absolutely breath taking. The music began and the room was filled with Nina Simone singing ‘I put a spell on you.’ Boy did Madame Belle put a spell on everyone in the room. In the spot light Belle began to twirl the ribbon in small circles and turn around on the spot. Her hair flew around behind her as she turned and made shapes with the ribbon. Every twirl and movement Belle made; her hair and hips swayed alongside her. The music dropped and so did the spotlight, making Belle no longer visible and the ribbon was dropped to the ground. The music then began to get louder and the light returned to its dim romantic state. Belle moved her hips so the skirt swayed against her legs. She strutted towards the front of the stage as if it was a casual movement. She oozed with confidence, she owned that stage and she knew it. Her arms began to make shapes elegantly as her wrist made beckoning circles. It was as memorising and almost calm, that was until Belle kicked her led up in the air, all the way up so her leg was pressed to her stomach. It fell as quickly as it rose and was quickly followed by the other leg mimicking the movement. As her legs moved her arms lifted above her head and moved gracefully. As her hips swung with poise, her arms crossed as the lifted for the hem of her slip vest and lifted it above her head. It revealed a simple silver bustier that complimented her skin wonderfully. She threw away the silk top and began to make shapes with her sheer skirt. All of a sudden the skirt was gone, revealing a matching garter belt to her bustier, a nude thong and stockings. The skirt was now used to make a cape as Belle waved it above her head, around her body and to the side like a bull fighter. She wrapped it to cover and hide her body, tease anyone watching. The skirt was whipped away and tossed to the side of the stage. The surprises kept coming as Belle bent down into a hand balance. Her legs positioned in a pointed arch before falling elegantly to the floor. Belle’s arms waved in the air as if she was casting some sort of spell. It was enchanting and Gold couldn’t take his eyes off her. Belle lifted herself off the ground and twirled on her heels. One of her arms came behind her back and began to unfasten the bustier, whist the other continued to cast spells in front of her. The other arm came to join it as the bustier balanced itself on Belle’s chest. Belle then twirled around to deprive Gold of her face, and lifted the bustier in the air elaborately, dangling it cheekily. She tossed the bustier away and bent down, with an extended leg to pick up the ribbon. As her hips shift from side to side, she makes circles with the ribbon above her head. As if Gold’s prayers were answered, she began to turn on the spot revealing brief glimpses of pearl pink nipple tassels, covered in diamond glitter. She plays with the ribbon, ignoring the tassels as if it was casual to have your breasts out on show, with only two small pieces of fabric to cover you. Then she dropped the ribbon, faces the stage and the music ends and the lighting goes dark. The dance is over.

Everyone cheered and clapped; everyone except Milah. Gold couldn’t help himself but clap and the amazing performance he had just witnessed, unfortunately that captured the attention of Milah.   
“Darling!” She called to him and ran over. Gold inwardly sighed with annoyance. This was not a woman he wanted to talk to.   
“Milah.” He said politely.   
“Oh Darling it’s been years! What are you doing here? Come to see me?” She said flirtatiously.   
“No, I’m one of Zelena’s new investors.” He said ignoring her flirting and instead trying to get a better view of Belle. She was surrounded by all the other dancers and staff at the club congratulating her and wanting to get to know her. Milah notices his glance wonder towards the girl and felt territorial. She turned to stand next to Gold, pressing her shoulder into his.   
“She took far too long to get to the point.” Milah said defensively.   
“She times it perfectly if you ask me.” He said to himself, unfortunately Milah heard and saw the lust in his eyes.   
“So then…” She pounced back in front of his vision and began to play with his tie, stroking up and down his arm as well. “You’re into investment then. What happened to the force?”  
“I moved on.” He said simply, lying.   
“Well good for me. I would love for your investment.” She grinned wickedly, moving closer to his face. However Gold grabbed her hand and pushed her away.   
“I moved on, in more ways than one.” The annoyance clear in his tone of voice, he pushed Milah away and began his journey towards Belle, who was now walking back stage to get dressed into her casual dance wear. Milah stood back and boiled with anger as she watched Gold follow after the girl who just upstaged her.   
“Who was that?” Cruella appeared and asked, clearly liking the site of Gold.   
“An old flame.”   
“Is the flame still burning?” Cruella asked curiously. Milah turned and smiled and Cruella, the smile that meant she had a plan.   
“It will be soon.”


	4. Chapter 4

The day had been long. That was the only way to describe it. After Belle’s performance, Belle was Milah number one target of hate. She placed her right in the back for all the routines, refusing to give her any recognition of her talent. Unlucky for Milah, as the day went on Belle’s dancing captured the attention of Zelena, who demanded she danced front row and centre. With Belle at the front, Milah wouldn’t accept anything but perfection. Kicks needed to be higher, legs needed to be extended longer and faces needed to be made sultrier.  Belle moaned with pleasure as her feet left her dance heels and landed in boots lined with fluffy material. With sweaty dance wear removed and clean leggings and baggy tops placed on instead; Madame Belle had signed out for the evening making _Belle_ very happy.

As Belle made her way out of the Burlesque longue, she walked over towards a small coffee shop across the street. The café fit well with its scenery.  Belle had to admit this was her new favourite street. It was quaint and rustic with a French vibe towards it; clearly trying to create some element of the Moulin Rouge. Up and down the road were cafés and small shops selling lingerie, perfume and expensive furniture. It was all modestly elegant with a smidge of sultry. The café was dark red with the outside lit by warm street lamps. White and pink roses were placed into pastel vases that sat on wooden outdoor tables paired with matching chairs. Belle noticed the smell of warm chocolate and strong coffee as she walked into the building. The inside was the same dark red as the outside, with dim romantic lights. Belle found herself staring at all the French pastries that presented themselves in a glass case. There were chocolate and raspberry eclairs with a beautiful contrast of brown and pink. Belle could almost taste the tarte tang of raspberry in her mouth. Macaroons in a sea of colours were laid out for all to see in a variety of flavours. Crème Brule tarts with delicate lilac flowers on top. It was the raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio profiteroles that seemed to be calling out to her, however when the barista asked her for her order, she decided a cappuccino would do her just fine. She took her coffee with a smile and left a generous tip before walking out the door and into the night air.

  
“No desert?” Belle jumped slightly as she turned her head to see Robert Gold, wait! _Agent_ Robert Gold was sitting at one of the outdoor tables with a dark espresso in his hand. Belle laughed and shot him a raised eyebrow.   
“Too much sugar, not good for your teeth.” Belle said as she walked over towards him. “Are you stalking me Mr Gold?”   
“Oh no dearie, just come by for a dose of coffee before heading home.”   
“Well, don’t stay out too late. You never know who may be lurking around. Dangerous men with dangerous weapons and all that. ” Belle said with a mischievous look, hinting towards the job she now knew he occupied.   
“Lecturing me on safety and dental hygiene? I believe I had a teacher just like you as a boy.” He said with a cheeky shark tooth grin.   
“Did she teach about manners and not stalking people?”  
“I believe I was off ill that lesson.” Belle rolled her eyes and turned away from the man. If he wanted to play games that was fine with her, as long as he didn’t get in the way of her work he could do whatever he liked.   
“Good night Mr Gold.” She said dryly as she walked away down the street. Gold smiled to himself as he watched her strut away.

He had planned to uncover her earlier, but after her performance she had been surrounded by dancers and could not get a moment of peace. Whilst waiting her to finish his day, it gave him time to reflect and realised uncovering her, may result in her angrily uncovering him – then no one would get their job done. As long as she stayed out of his way, he had no problem carrying out his job with her in background. All tough he did have to admit, he did rather enjoy her quick wit and attitude, and she certainly knew how to capture a crowd’s audience. She most definitely captured his earlier with her routine. God! That dance will haunt his dreams for as long as he lived.

Belle finally reached the top floor of her apartment building and to her front door. As she was about to place her key into the lock, she noticed a small box with an envelope at her feet. She picked up the box and walked into her home. Switching on the lights, she read her name neatly scrawled onto the crisp paper. She sat the box down on the kitchen counter and shrugged off her coat before sitting on a stool to study the packaged. The envelope held a folded letter which read.

_“In case you wanted to ditch the teacher act and live a little – RG.”_

Belle’s confusion was gone when she looked inside the box and saw a large raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio profiterole.  It was nice to see he was observant considering his job highly depended on it. She chuckled to herself placing the desert in her fridge, leaving it to wait for her until after her dinner. It would be the perfect partner for her book and evening cup of tea.

As she sat down in front of the television watching some form of mildly amusing sitcom with her ready-made oven pizza, Belle noticed her calmness towards Robert Gold being fully aware of her current address. Well it isn’t surprising was it? No doubt he looked her up after their run in with the mugger and now was aware of her real job and identity. It wouldn’t have been difficult to find where she currently lived. Yet again that didn’t mean he knew she was an agent. He could have followed her home one night. That idea should have made Belle nervous and set her agent alarm bells ringing, instead it excited her. _That_ worried her.

The next evening was the grand launch of the burlesque lounge’s opening. Belle sat at her dressing table, chaos and panic was whirling around behind her. Milah went into a crazed frenzy; verbally attacking everyone who got into her eyesight. Zelena sat in the audience with her investors and other important viewers, one of them being Mr Robert Gold. Belle had spotted him as she walked in earlier. He sat at his table with a whisky in hand and looking rather bored. Belle had silently hoped that her next performance would wake him up and grab his attention; it was after all inspired by a comment of his last night. She went over their interaction again in her head as she fixed her hair with bobby pins and hairspray. She remembered the sweet taste of her desert as she put the finishing touches to her makeup. She remembered wondering what it would taste like off his stomach as she zipped up her skirt.   
“Madame Belle! Get your arse on stage!” screamed Milah. God that woman had a stick so far up her own arse it was poking out her ears. Belle rolled her eyes, gave herself a final check and told herself she owned that stage; then strutted onto the stage.

Gold had been sitting in his seat nursing his whisky all evening. God this was dull! He had sat with other investors and observed their body language very closely. Annoyingly they acted like people genuinely interested in the Burlesque Longue itself and were asking appropriate questions. Zelena was her usual drunken self, dropping her hand to his knee whenever she had a chance. The performances had been fine enough. Everyone in the room seemed to enjoy them. However Gold continued to think of Madame Belle’s previous dance and how well she transformed the atmosphere in the room. It was magical.

Just as fate would have it, the microphone voice appeared.   
“Now to the stage; Madame Belle!”

Gold almost spat out his drink as Madame Belle came out strutting onto the stage with strong determination and speed. She was dressed in a navy blue skirt that was puffed out just below her knees. A modest white shirt tucked into her skirt and a dark blue shoal resting on her shoulders. Her hair was half up and half down. The top half was pinned into two neat victory rolls, whereas the rest was curled around her shoulders. She looked like an old fashioned school teacher! The only thing to remind him she was now a burlesque dancer was the black heels that added a couple inches to her height.

Standing beside her was a white flip board that read _“Madame Belle’s rules of young girl’s etiquette.”_ Chirpy piano music played in the background as she cheerfully smiled and lifted up the sheet of paper to reveal rule one.

_Boys and Girls must always be three feet apart._

She walked to the front of the stage and noticed a young couple sitting at one of the front tables. The man had his arm around the woman’s shoulders, both seemed very happy about the closeness his hand was to her breast. Belle instructed the two to separate with arm movement and pretended to get angry when they simply laughed at her. Belle then returned to her board and lifted up the sheet again.

_Girls must never show cleavage._

Belle then pointed at a group of girls individually making the whole audience laugh. Belle rolled her eyes in pretend annoyance and continued with her board.

_A young lady must never remove her clothes in public._

The whole crowd cheered with anticipation at the next movement Madame Belle was about to take. Strangely enough she reached behind her board and presented a shiny red apple. Rock Music of _Teenagers by My Chemical Romance_ began to play as she walked towards the crowd and thanked them, pretending they were the ones who had supplied her with the treat often received from student to teacher. She then scurried back to her board and presented a sheet that read

_You’re too kind!_

Everyone laughed and encouraged Madame Belle as she took a bit of her apple. For a few seconds it appeared that was all she was going to do, however her hips began to thrust to the beat of the song. Madame Belle pretended to fan herself at the invisible heat before placing the apple down and moving close to the stage front. Just as the chorus to the song kicked in, Madame Belle ripped off her shoal and swung it above her head in circles.  She pranced around the stage waving her shoal in the air before neatly hanging it on her board as the chorus ended. She then walked to the front of the stage, thrusting her hips to the beat of the song and undoing a button of her shirt with everyone hip movement. She continued to walk waiting for the lyric

_“If you’re troubled and hurt what you got under you shirt...”_

With the word _shirt_ , Madame Belle ripped open her shirt to present the cream bra and something sparkly and blue that hid underneath the modest clothing. The crowd cheered as the teacher began to misbehave and roll her shirt into a ball and throw it into the audience. Belle laughed as one of the girls she previous lectured for showing too much cleavage caught it. Madame Belle returned to her board and picked up her apple for another bite. She walked around the stage with apple in hand; pretending not to care the audience was there. She swirled her hips in circled but suddenly tore open her skirt to show her sparkly blue corset and nude stockings. Belle twirled the skirt in her hand as she turned on the spot, swirling her hips and presenting the audience with her buttocks hidden with a nude garter belt. Madame Belle dropped her skirt and held her apple with her teeth. She then went about untying the ribbon that held her corset in place. Her strutted around the stage, thrusting her hips has she undid her corset, making sure every move was so exaggerated it was almost humorous. By the time she reached the final knot, she turned her back to the audience and pretended to be driven crazy by the need to have her corset removed and snatched it away in an instant. The crowd cheered and Madame Belle twirled around the stage thrusting and shaking her hips; apple still in mouth. As the song began to end she undid her bra leaving her breasts covered only with silver sparkling nipple tassels. She shimmied her chest ferociously causing the audience to roar! With the final beat of the song she took her final bite of the apple and threw it across the stage.

 Madame Belle stood their taking in her applause and scanning the audience. After a few seconds her eyes finally found the person she was looking for; Robert Gold. She gave him a cheeky quick wink before strutting off the stage with a rather smug look on her face.

Robert Gold blew out a mouth full of breath. Well, she certainly put him in his place.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that my loves! I want to title my chapters (including past ones) so leave your suggestions and if I like one I'll use it :* till next time my loves <3 Books xxx


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